Though skeptics may remain convinced that e-sports is but a digital age fad, the data doesn’t lie: funding for e-sports related startups has exploded more than 1,100 percent over the last five years, as reported by Crunchbase.
As with most things, New York City is in the fast-lane, with e-sports companies sprouting up left and right, VC firms staking their claim in the action, and even some of the city’s legacy sports franchises dipping their toes into the virtual e-sports waters.
Below, we’ve rounded up everyone from the New York City e-sports scene you need to know in order to remain on the proverbial leaderboard of NYC tech.
Top NYC E-Sports Companies
- Riot Games
- Blizzard
- Sterling.VC
- PowerPlay
- MettaSport
- DBLTAP
Game Design
An obvious fact, but e-sports wouldn’t exist without the video games themselves. Though many may think of the west coast as game developer HQ, New York is home to many impressive design studios. In addition to its many global campuses, Riot Games boasts a bustling NYC office. The company works on, among other things, League of Legends — perhaps the most popular e-sport in the world.
Blizzard, maker of massively-popular first-person shooter Overwatch also has a New York City office. The aforementioned Overwatch just launched its own professional league, and the NYC team, Excelsior, is currently ranked in first place.
Investing
Just as e-sports would be nothing without video games, video games would be nothing without their investors — and you’d be surprised at just who’s putting their money into the e-sports arena. In late 2017, the New York Yankees (yep.) announced a major partnership with Vision Esports, making them major stakeholders in several e-sports operations, including Echo Fox and Twin Galaxies.
Not to be outdone, Sterling.VC, the principal owner of the New York Mets, signed on as the owner of the aforementioned New York Excelsior team. The firm also regularly invests in e-sports startups.
The New York City Football Club, NYC’s professional soccer team, has two e-sports players signed to their roster. The players compete in, appropriately, international FIFA matches.
Consulting
For those eager to get a piece of the e-sports action, specialized consulting firms are popping up across the city. PowerPlay works with companies to help develop everything from business and investment strategy to branding and design. They have worked with several major e-sports franchises across the globe, in addition to clients like Wix and Viacom.
MettaSport is another consulting firm with a traditional sports background. Since its inception, MettaSport has served FIFA and the NCAA, among others. Now, with the prevalence of e-sports, the firm has branched out into hosting major e-sports events and working to create specialized broadcasts for top e-sports titles.
Media
If you’re now officially an e-sports devotee, you’re probably wondering where you can keep up on the latest news across leagues and games. Sites like DBLTAP are popping up across the net, reporting on all you need to know in the gaming world. It’s an exciting new territory of media that’s sure to explode as e-sports get bigger and bigger. And hey, even if you’re not following League of Legends scores with gusto, it’s still fun to log on and watch the highlight reels. Now it just remains to be seen if any e-sports player will ever get a sneaker deal. Or at the very least, a recliner deal...
